"He'll never end up on someone's plate, that's for sure," said Mike Stura, the animal advocate who helped transport the 750-pound black-and-white bovine to the Woodstock, N.Y. refuge.

Cow Escapes from NJ Slaughterhouse

A cow escaped from a local slaughterhouse in Paterson, N.J., Tuesday evening, causing some chaos as police attempted to capture it. The cow was finally caught in a Paterson street. It was not hurt. (Published Wednesday, Apr 11, 2012)

The cow got out from the slaughterhouse on River Street Tuesday evening. After a brief chase around the streets in Paterson, police and animal control finally caught the cow when he got trapped between a fire hydrant and a truck.

The owner of the slaughterhouse promised to release the brave bovine to a farm, and Stura volunteered to take the animal himself Wednesday.

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"Two of the people at the slaughterhouse helped me," he said. "He didn't seem to like them that much. He tried to kick them. But he was nice to me."

A veterinarian found the shaken animal had lost some blood, was dehydrated and showed some signs of infection. He was given a prescription of antibiotics, fresh food and drink.

"He was hit by a vehicle, and he has a lot of abrasions, some of them quite deep," said Dr. Thaddeus Sinks. "But there were no fractures, so I believe it's manageable, and his prognosis is pretty good. He's pretty tough."

Stura is optimistic the scampering steer will have a new and happy purpose in his new home at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, which takes in rescued food industry animals.

"He'll be used to teach people. People will come and meet him on the weekends. People come on the weekends, they take tours and hear their stories."

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